Four in 10 QLine passengers paid to ride the streetcar up and down Woodward Avenue after Detroit's newest vehicle for mass transit ended a summer of free rides after Labor Day.

Average daily ridership on the QLine fell to 3,000 from the 5,000 people who were using it on a daily basis over the summer when private donors were paying for rides while the streetcar service worked out kinks in the payment system.

The percentage of riders actually paying was 40 percent, which QLine spokesman Dan Lijana said is higher than 32.5 percent national average of similar downtown city rail systems.

At a 40 percent pay rate, that means an average of 1,200 riders are paying fares on a daily basis through either daily, monthly or annual passes.

The QLine's operators have a goal of an average daily ridership of 5,000 from this month through next September

"We are very confident QLine will reach that goal," Lijana said in an email to Crain's. "Early numbers suggest we are picking up more commuters in the early evening and attracting significant numbers of special event riders."

Since the payment service went into effect Sept. 5, QLine ambassadors have been directing riders to the payment kiosks at each stop along Woodward, LiJana said.

"We are likely to increase enforcement of all ordinances including fare using transit police in the near future," he said. "We've used the ambassador program as a way to help educate riders on payment."